The annual National Novena to Our Lady of Knock opens this week at the International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine in Co Mayo, and runs from 14 to 22 August. As Catholics around the world are celebrating this year as a dedicated Year of Prayer, the 2024 Novena has taken as its theme Whispering with God – How do you pray? The nine-day programme will explore how prayer, in all its forms, is an integral part of our daily lives.
The Year of Prayer, Pope Francis explains, is dedicated “To rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer, prayer in personal life, in the life of the Church, prayer in the world.”
Looking forward to this year’s Novena, Father Richard Gibbons, Rector of Knock Shrine, said, “Here at Knock we witness many ways in which people pray on a daily basis – from people making the Sign of the Cross as they pass by the Shrine, the parishioners who call into the Apparition Chapel during the day for a silent prayer, the candles that are quietly lit and the one million pilgrims who visit the Shrine each year, all engaging in their own personal whispering with God”.
Ireland’s International Marian and Eucharistic Shrine will host many guest speakers over the nine days, who in turn will offer insights on how they connect with God through prayer in their professional and personal lives. Daily programmes will include workshops at which participants will have the opportunity to discuss these themes in more depth.
Novena ceremonies will take place at 3.00pm and 8.00pm daily Mass, with Anointing of the sick at 2.30pm. Daily workshops with guest speakers will offer participants the opportunity to delve deeper into the topics discussed at these ceremonies.
For further information on the National Novena, or to view the full programme please visit here.
ENDS
